The Shopkeeper’s Heartbreak

The Shopkeepers, Book 1

The first book in a Scottish historical saga of loss, love and hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Evelyn Hood! Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Val Wood

Can Lessie Hamilton remain strong in the face of misfortune?

Greenock, Scotland, 1900

Widowed Lessie Hamilton lives with her young son and her brother Davie. To make ends meet, Lessie works in the local grocery shop supporting Davie as he works on the docks and attends night school, hoping to become an engineer, much to the scorn of their reformed alcoholic father.

With her mother's drinking spiralling, putting their vulnerable younger sister Thomasina at risk, brother Joseph frequently in trouble with the police and sister Edith thinking herself above them all – Lessie has much to contend with.

Things begin to look brighter as Lessie receives an inheritance, marries again and has the opportunity to take over the grocery shop. Meanwhile her neighbour Anna McCauley, who has had a colourful life 'entertaining' some high-profile male customers becomes the kept mistress to a wealthy sugar refinery owner.

But her old ties to Anna keep pulling Lessie and Davie back to their less prosperous pasts.
And when multiple tragedies strike, Lessie's mettle is tested in ways she could never have imagined.

Storytelling at its best, Evelyn Hood is the original bestselling Scottish saga writer

Previously published in paperback as This Time Next Year

©2026 Evelyn Hood (P)2026 Boldwood Books